Copyright in Canada
Background
Though something of a truism, it is accurate to say that Canadian copyright mixes English and French legal traditions (Murray & Trosow, 2007, p. 12). From Britain's seminal 1710 Statute of Anne forward, copyright in Canada has carried the influence and strain of its multinational ties (Murray & Trosow, 2007). Although Canada's Parliament tried to pass its own copyright laws repeatedly in the 1800s--especially necessary in light of its interaction with American publishing companies--the Crown refused to authorize the proposed changes (Murray & Trosow, 2007, p. 30). It was not until 1924 that Canada passed its Copyright Act, which was subsequently amended ten times between 1931 and 1997 (Murray & Trosow, 2007, p. 30).
Canada is a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Key Aspects of Canadian Copyright
Under Canada's present law, four main categories of works can be copyrighted:
A protected work must qualify as "original" (Department of Justice, 2008, s. 5(1)). This is an ambiguous category, and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office acknowledges that courts often debate whether a work has been "copied, even in part, from someone else's work" (Canadian Intellectual Property Office, 2008).
To be recognized as copyrightable, a work must also be tangible or "fixed" (Canadian Intellectual Property Office, 2008). This refers to the expression of an idea in material form (Creative Commons, 2008).
Finally, the creator of the work must be either a citizen or subject of Canada or a regular resident of a "treaty country" (Department of Justice, 2008, s. 5(1)(a)). Most states qualify (Creative Commons, 2008).
Copyright protection is effective upon creation of the work, even without registering a copyright (Creative Commons, 2008).
Another important aspect of Canadian copyright is "fair dealing." This refers to uses that do not constitute infringement. The United States' "fair use" policy lists legal usage examples but is not exhaustive; meanwhile, fair dealing is restricted to very specific uses (Murray & Trosow, 2007, p. 75):
The duration of copyright protection varies by circumstance and number of contributors. Generally speaking, it expires 50 years after the death of the last living contributor (Department of Justice, 2008, s. 6).
Though something of a truism, it is accurate to say that Canadian copyright mixes English and French legal traditions (Murray & Trosow, 2007, p. 12). From Britain's seminal 1710 Statute of Anne forward, copyright in Canada has carried the influence and strain of its multinational ties (Murray & Trosow, 2007). Although Canada's Parliament tried to pass its own copyright laws repeatedly in the 1800s--especially necessary in light of its interaction with American publishing companies--the Crown refused to authorize the proposed changes (Murray & Trosow, 2007, p. 30). It was not until 1924 that Canada passed its Copyright Act, which was subsequently amended ten times between 1931 and 1997 (Murray & Trosow, 2007, p. 30).
Canada is a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Key Aspects of Canadian Copyright
Under Canada's present law, four main categories of works can be copyrighted:
- literary
- dramatic
- musical
- artistic
A protected work must qualify as "original" (Department of Justice, 2008, s. 5(1)). This is an ambiguous category, and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office acknowledges that courts often debate whether a work has been "copied, even in part, from someone else's work" (Canadian Intellectual Property Office, 2008).
To be recognized as copyrightable, a work must also be tangible or "fixed" (Canadian Intellectual Property Office, 2008). This refers to the expression of an idea in material form (Creative Commons, 2008).
Finally, the creator of the work must be either a citizen or subject of Canada or a regular resident of a "treaty country" (Department of Justice, 2008, s. 5(1)(a)). Most states qualify (Creative Commons, 2008).
Copyright protection is effective upon creation of the work, even without registering a copyright (Creative Commons, 2008).
Another important aspect of Canadian copyright is "fair dealing." This refers to uses that do not constitute infringement. The United States' "fair use" policy lists legal usage examples but is not exhaustive; meanwhile, fair dealing is restricted to very specific uses (Murray & Trosow, 2007, p. 75):
- private study
- research
- criticism
- review
- news reporting
The duration of copyright protection varies by circumstance and number of contributors. Generally speaking, it expires 50 years after the death of the last living contributor (Department of Justice, 2008, s. 6).